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Army Awards $2.2B for Nuclear Microreactors at Military Sites

By NAM NewsroomSeptember 16, 2026

The U.S. Army is awarding up to $2.2 billion to five nuclear energy developers to build and operate microreactors at military installations in four states (POLITICO Pro, subscription).

What’s going on: “The Army expects more than 20 nuclear microreactors to be built in connection to the awards as part of its Janus Program, launched last year to support nuclear power generation at domestic military locations.”

  • The microreactors, which generate up to 20 megawatts of power and “can be deployed in bunches” (Axios), will be owned and operated by the contractors, and the Army aims to take delivery of all five in the next five years.
  • The nuclear companies, which include BWXT Advanced Technologies and Westinghouse Government Services, will receive the funding via a “milestone-based payment model,” according to an Army news release.
  • The reactors will be built at military installations in North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky and Georgia.

Part of a larger plan: The administration has made nuclear power a cornerstone of its energy agenda.

  • In May 2025, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the Defense Department to begin construction of 10 large nuclear reactors by 2030.

Big demand: The funding announcement comes as the U.S. is seeing explosive growth in power demand, which is expected to rise further with the construction of more data centers.

  • “To meet that demand, the Trump administration is pushing for an American nuclear energy renaissance that would also see the deployment and commercialization of small modular reactors, microreactors and other advanced reactor technologies.”

Who’s doing what: BWXT was chosen to build a microreactor for Fort Campbell in Kentucky, while Westinghouse was chosen to build one for Fort Drum in New York.

  • BWXT, which said it expects to break ground in Kentucky in 2028 and start reactor operations in the early 2030s, “said in a news release that it will be developing a 20-megawatt electric version of its BANR microreactor.”
  • The three other military sites slated to get microreactors are Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Benning in Georgia.

Navy, too: The Navy will install its first advanced nuclear micro modular reactor at Naval Weapons Station Crane by September 2028, according to a recent announcement.

The NAM says: “To produce the critical products Americans rely on every day, manufacturers use one-third of all energy consumed in the U.S.,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “They need safe, dependable, abundant energy sources—and nuclear fits the bill. Expanding nuclear energy in the U.S. will help manufacturers keep powering America.”